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THE design of this little volume is not merely to be a 
guide-book to the visitor going to Mount Vernon, but also 
to furnish those abroad, not having this advantage, with a 
description of all those interesting objects pertaining to the 
Home of Washington and its associations. 

The author procured many facts contained within these 
pages from the following gentlemen, when living, to wit: 
JoHH A. Washington, Esq., of Mount Vernon; G. W. P. 
CusTis, Esq., of Arlington, Va.; and Rembeandt Peale, Esq., 
of Philadelphia. 



innna^n 
inann 




Home of Washington 



AT 



MOUNT VERNON 



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ITS ASSOCIATIONS: 

EMBE AGING 

THE BIRTHPLACE, GENEALOGY, COURTSHIP, AND 
MARRIAGE OF WASHINGTON. 

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 




By J. A. WINEBERGER. 



WASHINGTON: 

McGILL & WITHEROW, PRINTERS AND STEREOTYPERS. 



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Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1866, by J. A. TVinebergkr, la 
the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District of Columbia. 



TABLE OF CO^^TEXTS 



UOV:^T VERNON. 



Its iiifliioutial emotiong as a Mecca. Distance. Present owner. 
Judgo Lusbrod Washington. General Wasliington apjjointed exec- 
utor in tlie will of his half-brother, La^Trence, who bequeathed him 
the estate of Mount Vernon, Washini^tou'd will. 



PATENTEES OF MOUNT VERNON 26 

The amount of land originally patented. The name given iu 
honor of High Admiral Vernon. 



MOUNT VERNON ESTATE 



Its location. Boundary when bequeathed to Judge Bushrod 
Washington. Mansion House. Curiosities and relics. The orchard, 
garden, and conservatories. 



ORIGIN AND GENEALOGY 38 

Derivation of the name. The name in the local history of Eng- 
land. Sir Uenry Washington. 



MARRIAGES AND DEATHS. 



John Washington. Lawrence. .Tohn. The father of Washing- 
ton, Augustine. His will. To Lawrence. To Augu.-tine. To George. 
To the rest of his sons. To his daughter Detty. The mother of 
Washington. Lawrence Washington. John A. Washington. 



WASHINGTON'S COURTSHIP 44 

Accidental meeting. The engagement. Preparations for mar- 
riage. 

WASHINGTON'S MARRIAGE, 47 

His marriage with the widow, Martha Custis. Where it took 
place. G. W. I?. Custis's rcmarks'-fipon the occasion. Mrs. Custis's 
two children. The removal after marriage to Mount Vernon. 

WASHINGTON'S BIRTHPLACE 50 

In the parish of Washington. Colonel John Washington. Law- 
rence. Colonel George C. Lewis W. Gov. 11. A. Wise's visit. The 
spot. 

SUMMER HOUSE 55 

Its location. A fine view. 



TABLE OF COXTENTS. 



THE OLD VAULT. 



Its location. "Washington's will in reference to a new vault. The 
removal. 



THE NEW VAULT 61 

Its location. The antechamber. The marble sarcophagus. The 
design on the lid. Inscription at the foot. Relatives present on 
the occasion of the removal. Remains of Mrs. Martha Washington. 



MRS. MARTHA AVASHINGTON 73 

Her instructions regarding her remains. Mr. Marshall's resolu- 
tions in Congress. The resolutions communicated to Mrs. Washing- 
ton. Her response. Her worthy deeds. 



MONUMENTS 76 

To the memory of Judge Buphrod Washington and Anna Black- 
burn, his wife. To the memory of John A. Washington, (the 2d.) 
To the memory of Eleanor Parke Lewis. To the memory of Mrs. E. 
A. M. Conrad. 



THE TOMB 78 

The feelings when visiting it. Washington's deeds in his coun- 
try's cause. 

PERSONAL APPEARANCE 83 

His features. Combination of qualities. Measurement. Portraits. 



A TRIBUTE 87 

From the pen of Phillips. The whole world should claim him. 



WASHINGTON'S LAST DAYS S{ 

The last visit around his farm. His illness. Calls in medical 
aid. Proves unavailing. 



WASHINGTON'S DEATH , 91 

Tobias Lear. Time of Washington's death. The melancholy news 
arrives at the seat of government. Mr. Marshall's resolutions. The 
Senate's letter to President Adams. 



THE BURIAL 97 

The procession. Inscription upon the coflSn. His wish how he 
should be buried. The English tleet. Its token of respect. 



Mount fenan. 



" There rests the Man, the flower of human kind, 
Whose visage mild bespoke his nobler mind ; 
There rests the Soldier, who his sword ne'er drew 
But in a righteous cause, to Freedom true ; 
There rests the Hero who ne'er fought for fame, 
Yet gained more glory than a Caesar's name ; 
There rests the Statesman, who, devoid of art, 
Gave soundest counsels from an upright heart. 
And, Columbia ! by thy sons caress'd, 
There rests the Father of the realms he bless'd, 
With no wish felt to make his mighty praise. 
Like other Chiefs, the means himself to raise ; 
But when retiring, breathed in pure renown, 
And felt a grandeur that disdained a crown." 

Mount Vernon has a deep and enduring interest 
for those who esteem the memory of Washington. It 
is a Mecca, towards which the heart turns with intense 
emotion, and which every American may visit to com- 
memorate the virtues of his country's greatest benefac- 
tor, upon whose character and history he may meditate 
until from the suggestions of the past, as memory brings 
them up, link by link, he may catch something of the 
spirit of the mighty dead. Here the lessons of patriot- 
ism may be enhanced, the mind elevated to nobler views 
of the vital questions that concern our country's wel- 
fare, the elements of our pure institutions brought to 

Q 



10 

remembrance, and the tone of public life in former 
generations recalled. 

The Mount Yernon estate, after it came in posses- 
sion of General Washington, was very much enlarged 
and improved, of whi«h he set apart a considerable 
quantity for cultivation. The estate, when occupied 
by him in his later years, comprised about ten thou- 
sand acres of land in a solid body, extending along the 
south bank of the Potomac river. The whole of its 
westerly and easterly borders were washed by more 
than ten miles of tide-water front, according to Wash- 
ington's estimate, and the whole shore, in fact, was 
one entire fishery. 

It was bounded on the east by the main channel of 
the river at its bend, and on its west by one of its con- 
fluents, called Dogue Creek, and was naturally sepa- 
rated into two unequal portions by another confluent 
of the Potomac, called Little Hunting Creek. That 
part in the elbow of the river, and between that and 
Hunting Creek, denominated River Farm, contained 
about two thousand acres. The other portion, between 
the Little Hunting Creek and Dogue Creek, extended 
further inland, and contained about six thousand acres 
in the form of an irregular square. The whole was 
apportioned into five separate unequal farms, called 



11 

River Farm, the Union Farm, the Dogue Run Farm, 
Muddy Hole Farm, and Mansion House Farm — each 
of these farms were devoted to diflPerent kinds of cul- 
ture and attended to by its own farm hands, with an 
overseer, the whole under a general superintendent, 
and all under the careful inspection of the chief 
himself. 

In a letter written by him to Arthur Young, dated 
^^Philadelphia, 12th December, 1793/' he says that 
all his landed property, east of the Appalachian moun- 
tains, was at that time under rent, " except the estate 
called Mount Vernon;" and this he also desires to 
lease, "reserving," he says, "the Mansion House Farm 
for my own residence, occupation, and amusement in 
agriculture/' and proposes to let the four farms to 
four substantial farmers for seven or ten years, at the 
rate of a dollar for "every acre of ploughable and 
mowable land," with privilege of taking wood for fuel, 
repairs, and fences from the uncultivated part of the 
estate. He estimates the whole amount of arable and 
meadow land in the four farms at 3,260 acres, or about 
half the entire surface, the residue being forest — this 
calculation not including the Mansion House Farm. 

He had under enclosure not only the several farms, 
or cultivated portions of the estate, but also the wood- 



12 

land; indented with inlets, haunts for deer and lurking 
places for foxes. 

The soil and other natural capabilities of the estate 
are accurately described by Washington. " The greater 
part," he says, " is a grayish clay ; some part is a dark 
mould, a very little inclined to sand, and scarcely any 
to stone." He adds: "A husbandman's will would 
not lay the farms more level than they are." 

In addition to his own dwelling-house and other 
buildings on the Mansion House Farm, he had what 
he calls an overlooker' s-house and negro quarters on 
each of the other farms. 

"Wheat, corn, and tobacco were the chief products 
of the estate — tobacco being, however, mucl^4ess cul- 
tivated in the latter years of his life than in earlier 
times. Upon the estate there was a fine two-story 
stone corn and flour mill, the remnants of which are 
still visible on Dogue Creek, up which flatboats came 
alongside the mill. The water to carry the mill was 
brought in a race some mile and a half from a " tumb- 
ling dam " up Dogue Eun. The old mill-house is still 
in good condition. Near this mill was also his dis- 
tillery. Several of these local names are found in 
Washington's will. He speaks also of " a newly- 
erected brick barn, equal perhaps to any in America," 



13 

on the Union Farm, and ^' a new circular barn '^ on 
the Dogue Run Farm. There wore also a brick-yard, 
a carpenter establishment, and blacksmith shop; the 
estate forming, in fact, a sort of village. 

^^No estate in united America," observes he in one 
of his letters, " is more pleasantly situated. In a high 
and healthy country, in a latitude between the ex- 
tremes of heat and cold ; on one of the finest rivers of 
the world — a river well stocked with various kinds of 
fish at all seasons of the year, and in the spring with 
shad, herring, bass, carp, sturgeon, etc., in great 
abundance." 

The various farms of the Mount Yernon estate have 
passed out of the family connection of Washington 
into those of sundry proprietors ; but notwithstanding 
these vicissitudes, the Mansion House Farm, the Union 
Farm, the Muddy Hole Farm, the Dogue Run Farm, 
the Gum Spring, the Tumbling Dam, and the mill may 
all be distinguished and traced out by the careful ob- 
server. The grayish soil, a good loam, more inclined, 
however, to clay than to sand, as Washington himself 
describes it, thdugh from use or abuse, as he says, in 
some places more consolidated and of course heavier 
to work than in others, yet still produces, with diie 
cultivation, the same luxuriant crops of clover, wheat. 



14 

and maize ; kine and flocks of sheep still graze in its 
pastures; and "of hogs, many'' still run at large in 
the woodland; and the grand old trees, the oaks, and 
chestnuts, and maples, and locusts, and cedars still 
murmur to the fresh southern breeze — the " zephyr '' 
of the waters of the Potomac. As the specific features 
of the scene, the "high, dry, and healthy country,'' 
the clear summer sky, the fragrant clover fields, the 
bright green maize stalks, the gathered sheaves of 
wheat, the broad closes and meadows, from which the 
vision passes to rest on the dark clumps of forest, the 
gentle undulating hills, the scattered farm-houses nest- 
led in many a dell or by many a hill-side, and the 
sparkling waters of one of the finest rivers in the 
world — as all these ohjecis jyJiofogrcqm themselves upon 
the mind, we conceive how it was that Washington 
dreaded to quit his sylvan retreat even to dominate 
over the field of battle, and to live in a nation's ad- 
miring gaze ; and how, with his own calm but fond 
affection, he clung through life to the fields and woods 
of Mount Vernon. 

Mount Yernon as now constituted lies on the Po- 
tomac river, between little Hunting Creek and Dogue 
Creek, and is a portion of the Mansion House Farm. 



15 

It is to this part of the estate that historical memories 
and public interest is attached^ it being, truly, the 
Home of Washington. 

The main road from Alexandria to Fredericksburg 
then, as now, or as Washington says in his will, ^' as 
it now goes and has ever gone since my recollection 
of it,'^ passing to the northward of the River Farm, 
traverses the Muddy Hole Farm from the Gum Spring, 
at the ford of Little Hunting Creek, to the mill on 
Dogue Run . At the Gum Spring another road branches 
off, passing between the Muddy Hole Farm and the 
Mansion House Farm, and through the southerly part 
of Union Farm to a landing place on the bank of the 
Potomac. A wide private road, with cedar hedges 
originally, crosses this at nearly right angles, connect- 
ing the Mount Vernon residence, in opposite direc- 
tions, with Alexandria and with Fredericksburg; and 
from the " new overlooker's-house " of the Union Farm 
there was a broad avenue by the ^^newly-erected brick 
barn/' ornamented also with stately rows of cedars, 
which, it is to be regretted, have been cut down and sold. 

At the head of this avenue is Mount Zephyr, the 
site of the ^' new overlooker's-house " at the Muddy 
Hole Farm. • Here for many years, and sometimes in 
the summer season, at a smaller house, by a chaly- 



16 

beate spring below, nearer the river, dwelt Busbrod 
Wasbington. 

Mount Vernon, the Home of Wasbington, remained 
at least a balf century neglected. Between tbe broken 
pledges of Congress and apatby of bis motber State, 
tbis place was fast decaying by tbe ravages of time. 

Now and tben a voice was beard from a patriotic 
visitor, who felt saddened to see tbe mansion and its 
surroundings going to destruction. 

Says Lossing : '' Tbe sad tbougbts of tbese visitors 
led to patriotic action, and for a long time tbere was 
a growing desire felt tbrougbout tbe Union to bave 
Mount Yernon become tbe property of tbe nation. Tbe 
young owner, unable to keep tbe estate in proper order, 
and greatly annoyed by tbousands of visitors every 
year, many of wbom took liberties about tbe bouse 
and grounds, in apparently utter forgetfulness tbat 
tbey were private property, expressed a willingness to 
sell for sucb a purpose. Congress was asked to buy 
it. Tbe application was unsuccessful. 

" At lengtb an American matron conceived tbe idea 
of appealing to ber countrywomen in bebalf of Mount 
Vernon. Sbe asked tbem to put forth their bands to 
tbe work of obtaining su^cient money to purchase it, 
that the Ho^ie and Tomb or Washington mi^ht 



17 

be a national possession forever. The idea was elec- 
tric, and it was -responded to all over the land. Her 
invalid daughter, strengthened by the thought of being 
instrumental in accomplishing the great work, took 
the direction of the enterprise. She printed a strong 
appeal to her countrywoman ; organized an association 
and procured a charter of incorporation for it; bar- 
gained for the purchase of the mansion and append- 
ages, and two hundred surrounding acres of the Mount 
Vernon estate, for two hundred thousand dollars, and 
began in great earnestness the work of obtaining the 
amount of money, and as much more for the restora- 
tion and support of the estate. By common consent 
she was constituted regent or chief manager, and she 
appointed vice-regents in every State in the Union, as 
assistants." 

To purchase the estate of Mount Vernon, the Home 
and Tomb of Washington, which received the care 
and culture of his mind and hand, was the purpose 
formed by the Mount Vernon Ladies' Association; 
and they have paid a tribute of gratitude to his memory 
by consecrating it as a spot around which all the 
sacred associations and patriotic feelings of the nation 
shall cluster. 



18 

An act of incorporation having been previously ob- 
tained from the State of Virginia, ou the 6th of April, 
1858, a contract was legally executed with John A. 
Washington, (the last owner of this portion of the es- 
tate,) for the purchase of the mansion and appendages, 
and two hundred acres of the Mount Yernon estate. 

The sum stipulated as the price was two hundred 
thousand dollars, of which eighteen thousand were 
paid on the execution of the deed, and the remainder 
of the sum in four bonds, payable in yearly instal- 
ments; and the following stipulation appears in the 
agreement : " And that the said vault^ the remains in 
and arouucl it aud the enclosure, seliali never be removed 
or disturbed ; and that no other persons hereafter shall 
ever be interred or entombed within the said vault or 
enclosure.'^ 

At the breaking out of the Great Rebellion the As- 
sociation had all the purchase money paid, and were 
on" tii^^ eve of crowning with success, commensurate 
with their sacred aims and lofty patriotism, a final 
appeal to their country for a special sum of money, the 
interest on which should be sufficient to keep the 
Mount Vernon property in complete order. 

Already much has been done towards its renovation, 
as the late proprietor allowed the work of repairing 



19 

to commence a year before all the money was paid. 
The seed-houses in the garden and several other build- 
ings wore reconstructed in the style of the original 
The old portico of the mansion having decayed, a new 
one of an exact copy was substituted, and the outside 
of the entire mansion painted, and something done 
towards its interior renovation. A new wharf has been 
constructed, and also a good road made between it and 
the house. 

John A. Washington, Esq., (the 3d,) was g-eat- 
grand nephew of General Washington. He inherited 
the estate from his father, John A. Washington, (the 
2d.) The latter was the n<^phew of Judge Bushrod 
Washington, who appointed him one of his executors, 
and bequeathed him the estate, on which he died, 
June 16, 1832, aged 43. 

Judge Bushrod Washington was the son of John A. 
Washington, ^the 1st,*) arid nephew of General Wash- 
ington, who appointed him one of his executors, and 
bequeathed him the Mansion House Farm. He died 
in Philadelphia, November 26, 1829, aged 68, having 
been for thirty years an Associate Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States, which situation he 
held at the time of his death. 

* The brother of General Washington. 



20 

General Washington was appointed, in the will of 
his half-brother, Lawrence, one of his executors, and 
the estate, bequeathed to his surviving daughter, Sarah, 
was to pass to the General if she died without issue ; 
and he therefore came in possession of the same July 
26, 1752. At his death — he dying without issue — 
he gave and becjueathed to his wife the benefit of all 
his real and personal property during her natural life, 
with the exception of some special bequests which he 
made to some of his relatives and most intimate friends, 
not on account of their intrinsic value, but as tokens 
of his high respect. Among these were : A box made 
of the oak that sheltered Sir William Wallace after 
the battle of Falkirk, originally designed to be pre- 
sented by the Goldsmith's Company of Edinburgh to 
Lord Buchan, Avho received it upon condition that it 
might be transferred to General Washington, who re- 
committed it by bequest to Lord Buchan, and in case 
of his death to his heir. 

To his brother, Charlea Washington, he gave his 
gold-headed cane, left to him by Dr. Benjamin Frank- 
lin in his will. 

To Lawrence and llobert Washington, of Chotanck, 
King George's county, Va., "acquaintances and 



21 

friends of his juvenile years/' he gave his other two 
gold-headed canes, with his arms engraved upon them, 
one to each ; also two spy-glasses, one to each. The 
spy-glasses, he said, constituted part of his equipment 
during the Revolutionary war. 

To his compatriot in arms, his old intimate friend 
and family physician, Dr. James Craik, he gave his 
secretary and circular chair. These were appendages 
to his study room. 

To Dr. David Stuart ho gave his large shaving and 
dressing table and his telescope. 

To Lord Fairfax he gave a Bible in three large folio 
volumes,, presented tahim by the Eev. Thomas Wilson, 
Bishop of Sodor and Man, England. 

To General De Lafayette he gave a pair of finely- 
wrought sfeel pistols, which were taken from the Brit- 
ish in the Revolutionary war. 

To five of his nephews — William Augustine Wash- 
ington, George Lewis, George Steptoe Washington, 
Bushrod Washington, and Samuel Washington — he 
bequeathed a sword to each, adding the injunction not 
to take them from their scabbards with the intention 
of shedding blood, except in self-defence or in defence 
of their country, and, in the latter case, to keep them 
unsheathed and die with them in their hands rather 



22 

than give up the same. Some of these swords were 
worn by his side in his engagements with the enemies 
of his country. 

To his nephew, Bushrod Washington, he bequeathed 
all his civil and military papers. These were purchased 
by Congress, and are now in the archives of the depart- 
ments. Also his private papers and the books of every 
description in his library. 

To his wife and her heirs forever he bequeathed an 
improved town lot in Alexandria and his household 
furniture of every kind. 

By his will his whole real estate, amounting 
nearly to ten thousand acres of land, was divided, 
after the death of his wife, among the following re- 
cipients : 

First. To his nephew, Bushrod Washington, and his 
heirs, he gave and bequeathed Mount Vernon, (proper,) 
which contained upwards of four thousand acres of land, 
together with the mansion and all other buildings and 
improvements, as Washington said, ^^ partly in consid- 
eration of an intimation to his deceased father, while 
we were bachelors, and he had kindly undertaken to 
superintend my estate during my military services in 
the former war between Great Britain and France, that, 
if I should fall therein. Mount Vernon, then less ex- 



23 

tensive in domain than at present, should becouie his 
property." 

/Second. To George Fayette Washington and Charles 
Augustine Washington he gave and bequeathed, to 
them and their heirs, the estate east of Little Hunting 
creek, bordering on the Potomac river, containing up- 
wards of two thousand acres. In giving this bequest he 
said : "In consideration of the consanguinity between 
them and my wife, being as nearly related to her as to 
myself, as on account of the affection I had for and 
the obligation I was under to their father when living, 
who from his youth had attached himself to my person 
and followed my fortunes through the vicissitudes of 
the late Revolution, afterwards devoting his time to the 
superintendence of my private concerns for many years, 
whilst my public employments rendered it impractica- 
ble for me to do it myself, thereby affording me essen- 
tial services, and always performing them in a manner 
the most filial and respectful." 

Third. To his nephew, Lawrence Lewis, and Elea- 
nor Parke Lewis, his wife, and their heirs, he gave and 
bequeathed the residue of the domain of the Mount 
Vernon estate not already devised to his nephew, Bush- 
rod Washington, and a tract of land west of this, to- 
gether with a mill, distillery, and other improvements 



24 

on the premises, both together making about two thou- 
sand acres. In giving this he said : " And whereas it 
has always been my intention, since my expectation of 
having issue ceased, to consider the grandchildren of 
my wife in the same light as I do my own relations, 
and to act a frie:gdly part by them ; more especially by 
the two whom we have raised from their earliest in- 
fancy, namely, Eleanor Parke Custis and George Wash- 
ington Parke Custis j and whereas the former of these 
hath lately intermarried with Lawrence Lewis, a son 
of my deceased sister, Betty Lewis, by which union 
the inducement to provide for them both has been in- 
creased." 

Fourth. To his ward, who was also his wife's grand- 
son, George Washington Parke Custis, and his heirs, 
he bequeathed a tract of land on Four-Mile run, near 
Alexandria, containing one thousand two hundred acres, 
also his entire square No. 21 in the city of Washington. 
In giving this, he said he was actuated by the principle 
already mentioned — that is, considering the grandchil- 
dren of his wife in the same light as he did his own 
relations. 

Fifth. The balance of his real and personal estate, 
accompanied by a schedule and a reasonable esti- 
mate of its value, he desired might ' be sold by his 



25 

executors,* if they could not agree otherwise in the 
division. 

Lastly. He generously gave freedom to all the slaves 
he owned, and made ample provision for the helpless 
ones, both old and young. 



* The executors were his wife, Martha Washington, his 
nephews, William Augustine Washington, Bushrod Washing- 
ton, George Steptoe Washington, Samuel Washington, and 
Lawrence Lewis, and his ward, George Washington Parke 
Custis. 



Ipatentets of Paunt fernon. 

The MouDt Vernon estate was originally the half of 
5,000 acres of land that was assigned, on division, to 
John Washington, the great-grandfather of General 
Washington, who, in conjunction with Nicholas Spen- 
cer, patented it from Lord Culpeper in 1670. John 
Washington bequeathed this estate to his son Lawrence, 
who bequeathed it to his son Augustine, the father of 
General Washington, who, in the division of his es- 
tate assigned this tract to his eldest son Lawrence, who 
erected the mansion in 1743, and gave it the name it 
now bears in honor of High Admiral Vernon, under 
whom he had served as Captain in a Colonial regiment, 
in the West Indies in 1740, Lawrence died in 1752, 
leaving a wife, the daughter of Sir William Fairfax, 
of Belvoir, and one child, a daughter, and on the de- 
mise of this daughter without issue the estate fell to 
George, as has already been stated* 



26 



IPottttt 0tntan §skit 

"On yonder swelling height, 

"With ivied oaks and cedars crowned, 
Where Freedom's banner floats in light, 

And every whispering sound 

Breathes of the past, 'tis consecrated ground. 

" Pilgrim, ascend the steep. 
And there, with true and feeling heart, 

On Vernon's brow deep silence keep ; 
Ay, let the teai'-drop start, 
While proud yet hallowed thoughts a balm impart !" 

The Mount Vernon estate is located in the county 
of Fairfax, Ya., on the western bank of the Potomac, 
commanding, from its situation, a magnificent and ex- 
tended view of the meanderings of this lovely river in 
either direction for many miles. 

It was bounded, when bequeathed to Judge Bushrod 
Washington, by the Potomac river ; thence by Little 
Hunting creek as far up as Gum Spring on said creek; 
thence to a ford on Dogue run ; thence along Dogue 
creek to the Potomac river. 

THE MANSION HOUSE. 

The mansion house,* consecrated as the home ot 



* Lawrence Washington built the central portion of the 
house, and the wings were added by General Washington 



30 

Washington, was built in accordance with the architec- 
tural style then peculiar to the country, and is well 
marked for its great simplicity and the excellence of 
its general arrangements. It stands upon an elliptical 
plain, and has an elevation of at least two hundred feet 
above the surface of the river, which is at this point 
about two miles broad. The mansion presents a fine 
appearance in any position in which it may be viewed. 
Built of the most durable frame-work, with all its fronts 
cut in imitation of free-stone, its gray and time-worn 
aspect is in contrast with houses of the present day, 
with their newly-painted walls, green blinds, and nicely- 
colored doors. This edifice has withstood the ravages 
of time remarkably well, as may be readily seen upon 
inspection. The house is two stories high, and is over- 
topped with a slanting roof looking east and west, hav- 
ing three dormars eastward and two westward. On 
the first and second stories in the east fa§ade or river 
front are fourteen windows. Upon the roof, in the 
centre, is an octagonal cupola, answering the purposes 
of an observatory. There are on the ground floor six 
rooms, the most of them wainscoted, and having large 
worked cornices and shafts, in keeping with the taste 
of former days . The central building has a very roomy 
hall on the same level with the pavement of the portico. 



31 

No doubt this hall was built by its original proprietor 
that there might be ample room to receive guests iu 
that generous manner which prevailed among our Vir- 
ginia ancestors. It has communication with three par- 
lors and th€ main stairway, which leads to the chambers 
in the second story, and above these to the observatory. 
Attached to the house is a spacious portico fifteen 
feet in width, its height reaching to the eaves of the 
roof, having square pilasters. It extends entirely 
across the eastern or river front, is ninety-six feet in 
length, and has a light and graceful balustrade on its 
top ; its ground floor is paved with flat stone. Here 
the hero used to walk, and here, doubtless, as his eye 
glanced over the beautiful river, spreading out like a 
bay at the foot of the hill, his mind was often filled 
with reflections upon the alternate gloom and grandeur 
of his country's early history, and with glowing con- 
ceptions of the glorious future which awaited her. 

The library room in the south end is occupied by 
the agent of the Mount Vernon Association. Over 
this apartment, in a small bed-room, the great and good 
man died. The family pictures were taken to Rich- I 
mond by General Lee. The celebrated pitcher portrait, j 
upon the back of which was inscribed the beautiful 
eulogy, was carried away by John A. Washitigtou. 



82 

On the north wing is an extensive drawing-room, 
decorated with a handsome mantel, presented in the 
year 1785 to General Washington by Samuel Vaughen, 
esq., of London, the father of the late and venerable 
John Vaughen, of Philadelphia. The pillars are of a 
rich variegated marble, partially set into the wall ; the 
other portion is composed of a fine white Italian marble, 
having upon its freize, sculptured with a masterly hand 
in bas-relief, prominent objects of agriculture and hus- 
bandry, presenting a beautiful, gay, and graceful ap- 
pearance. 

/_ The original mansion house, built by Lawrence Wash- 
ington, forming the centre of the present building, con- 
sisted only of four rooms upon each floor, to which its 
present extent, with the numerous outbuildings at- 
tached, exhibits quite a contrast. 

The improvements, such as the additions to the 
house, the buildings around, and the laying off of the 
gardens and grounds surrounding the premises, began 
soon after peace was declared, in 1783, on Washing- 
ton's return home from the seat of war. 

There were many things of note and many highly 
esteemed relics in the house. Among these was an 
ancient map of Virginia, representing the territory be- 
tween the Atlantic ocean and the Ohio river, with pen- 



83 

cilled traces and marks from Washington's own hand, 
designating the route he traversed during Braddock's 
memorable and disastrous campaign against the French 
and Indians. The key of the Bastile is here, enclosed in 
a glass case placed on the wall in the hall. This key was 
sent by Lafayette from France to General Washington 
soon after the destruction of the prison. Upon a 
bracket over the door of the entrance into the library is 
a model bust, originally taken from life in a mask in 
plaster by M. Houdon, a French sculptor, who visited 
Mount Vernon in October, 1785, and spent three weeks 
there for the express purpose of procuring a likeness as 
exact in all its lineaments as his art and ingenuity 
could produce. The result is a work of art possessing 
much interest, as conveying a truly characteristic delin- 
eation and strongly-marked representation of the origi- 
nal, admitted without doubt to be the best likeness 
extant. This work was designed as a model from 
which to execute a statue of Washington for the State 
of Virginia, which authorized Franklin and Jefferson, 
then in Paris, to select an artist for this purpose. They 
chose M. Houdon. The statue is in the State Capitol 
at Richmond, Va. 

The costume of this statue is the military dress of 
the Revolution. One hand holds a cane, the other rests 



34^ 

upon the fasces, with which are united the sword and 
ploughshare, and over it a martial coat. The inscrip- 
tion, by James Madison, on the pedestal, is as follows : 

<* George Washington. The General Assembly of the Com- 
monwealth of Virginia have caused this statue to be erected 
as a monument of affection and gi-atitude to Geokge Wash- 
ington ; wb«, uniting to the endowments of the hero the vir- 
tues of the patriot^ and exerting both in establishing the liber- 
ties of his country, has rendered his name dear to his fellow- 
citizens, and given the world an immortal example of true 
glory. Done in the year of Christ, one thousand seven hun- 
dred and eighty-eight, and in the year of the commonwealth 
the twelfth." 

The following composition on the character of Wash- 
ington, designed, perhaps, for a monumental inscription, 
was written, after Washington's death, on the back of 
a picture frame containing a miniature likeness uf 
Washington, formerly hung in the drawing room. 
The author gave in his name to the family as John 
Smith, of New York, but is supposed to have been an 
English traveller. 

WASHINGTON, 

The Defender of his Country — The Founder of Liberty — 

The Friend of Man. 

History and Tradition are explored in vain 

For a Parallel to his Character. 

In the Annals of Modern Greatness 

He stands alone ; 

And the noblest names of antiquity lose their Lustre 

In his Presence. 



36 



Born the Benefactor of Mankind, 

He united all the qualities necessary to an illustrious career. 

Nature made him great — He made himself virtuous. 

Called by his country to the defence of her Liberties, 

He triumphantly vindicated the rights of humanity, 

And on the Pillars of National Independence 

Laid the foundations of a great republic. 

Twice invested with supreme magistracy 

By the unanimious voice of a free people. 

He surpassed in the Cabinet 

The Glories of the Field, 

And, voluntarily resigning the Sceptre and the Sword, 

Retired to the shades of Private Life. 

A spectacle so new and so sublime 

Was contemplated with the profoundest admiration. 

And the name of Washington, 

Adding new lustre to humanitv, 

Resounded to the remotest regions of the earth. 

Magnanimous in youth, • 

Glorious through life. 

Great in Death, 

His highest ambition the Happiness of Mankind, 

His noblest Victory the conquest of himself. 

Bequeathing to posterity the inheritance of his fame, 

And building his monument in the hearts of his countrymen, 

He Lived — The Ornament of the 18th Century; 

He Died — Regretted by a Mourning World. 

" All the regard one could wish seems to have been 
shown to the sacredness of these public relics, down to 
the time that they were removed by J. A. Washington, 
on the sale of the estate. 

'^ Money made in the stocks can purchase the bedi- 
zenry of our city drawing-rooms ; but these elevating 
associations, which no gold can buy, no popular favor 



36 

win — wliich can only be inherited, — these are the heir- 
looms, the traditionary titles and pensions, inalienable, 
not conferred, which a republic allows to the descend- 
ants of her servants/' 

In visiting the mansion, and beholding the various 
articles it contains, which were constantly in contact 
with the great man, little effort is required to lead one 
back to the days when there were assembled within its 
walls those associates of his who laid the foundation of 
our glorious Union. 

Mr. Elkanah Watson, who visited Mount Vernon in 
1785, arriving there in the afternoon of January 23d, 
remarks that he observed a peculiarity in Washington's 
smile, which seemed to illumine his eye; his whole 
countenance beamed with intelligence, while it com- 
manded confidence and respect. 

The house on the west front has a very extensive 
lawn, surrounded by serpentine walks, their borders 
skirted in symmetry and beauty with the choicest for- 
est trees, which were transplanted from the woods on the 
estate, with evergreens and flowering shrubs, all selected, 
planted, and attended by Washington. South of the 
lawn, and a considerable distance from the left wing of 
the house, is the vegetable garden ; and opposite to 
this, on the north of the lawn, about the same distance 



87 

from the right wing, ace gardens and a conservatory 
for ornamental shrubs, plants, and flowers. These con- 
tain many valuable plants presented to Washington 
and preserved by him while living. Beyond the gar- 
dens and lawn is the orchard. The orchard, gardens, 
and conservatory were furnished with all varieties of 
rare fruits, vegetables, shrubs, and flowering plants, 
native and exotic. Horticulture was one of Washing- 
ton's favorite pursuits, which he prosecuted with char- 
acteristic method and skill. Also on this front of the 
house are located negro quarters, seed houses, tool 
houses, and other buildings, the necessary appendages 
to a plantation. These things have no peculiar interest 
in themselves, except as belonging to the place, and 
being objects that received the owner's frequent atten- 
tion. 



©rigiii club ^CHtalajjii. 

The family name of Washington is derived from a 
person originally named William De Hertburn, whose 
name was changed in the 13th century, from the fact 
of his owning a manor called Washington, in the county 
of Durham, in England, where a custom prevailed in 
those days to name the person after his estate. 

The name became conspicuous in the local history 
of England, which has uniformly spoken of the family 
as being composed of individuals of the highest respect- 
ability, possessing wealth, talent, and influence. 

Sir Henry Washington, one of the family, a British 
colonel, made himself renowned for the active part he 
sustained at the capture of Bristol, in 1640, in the 
army of Charles I. Two uncles of this Colonel Wash- 
ington came together to this country — John, the origi- 
nal owner of the land now called Mount Yernon, and 
his brother Lawrence — from England, in the year 1657, 
and settled upon the banks of Bridgets (afterwards 
called Pope's) creek, in the colony of Virginia. 



John Washingfon, soon after he came to America, 
was appointed to a military command against the In- 
dians, and was afterwards raised to the rank of a colonel. 
He married Anne Pope, by whom he had two sons, 
Lawrence and John, and a daughter, named Anne, 
who married Major Francis "Wright. 

Lawrence, the eldest son of John and Anne, married 
Mildred Warner, daughter of Col. Augustine Warner, 
of Westmoreland county, Virginia, and had two sons, 
John and Augustine, and a daughter, named Mildred, 
who married for her first husband a Mr. Gregory, and 
for her second Col. Henry Willis, by the latter of 
whom only she had issue. 

John, the eldest son of Lawrence and Mildred, mar- 
ried Catharine Whiting, of Gloucester county, in which 
he settled, died, and was buried. He left two sons, 
Warner and Henry, and three daughters, Mildred, 
Elizabeth, and Catharine. 

THE FATHER OF WASHINGTON, 

Augustine, the youngest son of Lawrence and Mil- 
dred, married, on the 20th April, 1715, Jane Butler, 



40 

the ("'ausrhter of Col. Caleb Butler, of Westmoreland 
county, Va. She died November 24th, 1728, and was 
buried in the family vault at Bridge's creek. She left 
three sons, Butler, Lawrence, and Augustine, and a 
daugh ter, Jane 3 Butler and Jane died quite young. 
Their father married, March 6th, 1730, for his second 
wife, Mary Ball, by whom he had six children, 
George, the illustrious patriot, Betty, Samuel, John 
Augustine, Charles, and Mildred. The latter died 
when an infant. Augustine (the hero's sire) died 
April 12, 1743. Sparks says: 

" Little is known of his acts. It appears by his 
will, however, that he possessed a large and valuable 
property in lands ; and as this had been acquired chiefly 
by his own enterprise, it may be inferred that in the 
concerns of business he was methodical, skilful, honor- 
able, and energetic. His occupation was that of a 
planter, which, from the first settlement of the country, 
had been the pursuit of nearly all the principal gentle- 
men of Virginia. Each of his sons inherited from him 
a separate plantation. It is thus seen that Augustine 
Washington, although suddenly cut oflf in the vigor of 
manhood, left all his children in a state of comparative 
independence. Confiding in the prudence of the mother, 
he directed that all the proceeds of the- property of her 



41 

children should be at her disposal till they should re- 
spectively come of age.'' 

To his son Lawrence he gave the Mount Yernon 
estate, together with lands and shares in iron works 
which were very valuable in Virginia and Maryland. 

To Augustine he gave the old home farm at Bridge's 
creek, the place where he was buried, in the tomb of 
his ancestors. 

To George he gave the new home farm, opposite 
Fredericksburg, on the east side of the Rappahannock 
river, the place where he lived at the time of his 
death. 

To the rest of his sons he gave each a separate estate 
of from six to seven hundred acres. 

For his only remaining daughter, Betty, ample pro- 
vision was made in his will. 

THE MOTHER OF WASHINGTON, 

Mary, the widow of Augustine, Greneral Washington's 
mother, died in Fredericksburg, August 25th, 1789, at 
the age of 82. She was buried upon the estate (adjoin- 
ing Fredericksburg) of her son-in-law. Col. Fielding 
Lewis, on an elevated spot, which was selected by 
her for the purpose a number of years previous to 
her death. 



42 

" Within a few steps from the place where she lies 
interred is a romantic ledge of rocks to which she used 
often to resort for private meditation and devotion. She 
was a lady of uncommon excellence, and was greatly 
endeared to all who had the happiness of her acquaint- 
ance. She was truly estimable in all the relations of 
life ; but among the distinguished traits of her char- 
acter, none was more remarkable than her constant and 
generous attentions to the necessities of the poor. She 
for years w?^ expecting the approach of death from a 
deep-rooted cancer in her breast, and was long desirous 
to lay aside her clayey tabernacle to depart and be with 
Christ, in whom was all her hope ; yet she was enabled 
to exercise a becoming resignation to the will of God 
under all the sufferings she endured from her excruci- 
ating disorder." Over her grave is now to be seen 
a half-finished white marble monument, (presenting 
rather an imposing aspect, notwithstanding its unfin-" 
ished state,) the corner-stone of which was laid May 
7th, 1833, by General Andrew Jackson, then Presi- 
dent of the United States. 

LAWRENCE WASHINGTON. 

Lawrence, the eldest son then living of Augustine 
and Jane, married, July 19th, 1743, Anne, eldest 



43 

daughter of the Hon. William Fairfax, who was a 
distant relative of Lord Fairfax. They had four chil- 
dren ; three died young, and the other lived some time 
after the death of her father : he died in 1752, aged 
34, and was placed in the family vault at Mount 
Vernon. 

JOHN A. WASHINGTON. 

After John A. Washington sold the two hundred 
acres of land to the Ladies' Mount Vernon Association, 
he went to Fauquier county with his family, in 1860, 
and purchased a farm known as Wareland. His wife 
died suddenly soon after, and it is well known that he 
fell as colonel of a rebel regiment, early in 1861, leav- 
ing a family of seven children, the youngest two being 
little boys, and the only male children ever born at the 
Mount Vernon mansion. There are some one thou- 
sand acres of the Mount Verw)n estate, belonging to 
these orphan children. 



It was in the month of Blay, 1758, when Washing- 
ton, (then a Colonel,) being on his way to Williamsburg 
from Winchester, then his headquarters, on official busi- 
ness, was accosted by Mr. Chamberlyne — living in the 
mansion known as the White House, situated on the 
southern side of the Pomunkey river, near Williams' 
Ferry, in Kent county — who insisted upon his stopping 
and partaking of his hospitality during the day. The 
Colonel apologized by saying his time would not permit j 
but, Mr Chamberlyne olGfering, as an inducement, the 
promise of an introduction to ^^ a young widow " who 
was then under his roof, he waived his objections and 
consented to stay until after dinner. Orders were given 
accordingly to the Colonel's attendant — a body servant, 
bequeathed, with a noble charger, to Washington, 
by General Braddock in his dying moments. On be- 
ing ushered into the house, he was introduced to several 
guests, and among the rest the fascinating young widow. 
The result of their interview was a mutual reciproca- 
tion of the tender feeling. He dined, and the servant 
Tvas ready with the charger ) but love induced procras- 



45 

tinatiou. Time passed on, and yet the Colonel did not 
appear; the servant meanwhile wondering at his unusual 
delay, as he was noted for his great punctuality. The 
host at length ordered the horses to be put up for the 
night, as no guest left his house after sundown. The 
next morning late, the Colonel put spurs to his charger, 
and, having reached the seat of government, soon dis- 
patched his business, and returned again to Mr. Cham- 
berlyne's mansion, where an engagement was entered 
into and preparations made for the marriage. Mr. G. 
W. P. Custis said he had often ^' heard of that mar- 
riage, from the gray -haired domestics who waited at the 
board where love made the feast and Washington the 
guest. And rare and high was the revelry at that 
palmy period of Virginia's festal age ; for many were 
gathered to that marriage, of the good, the great; and 
they, with joyous acclamations, hailed in Virginia's 
youthful hero a happy and prosperous bridegroom." 

" 'And so you remember when Colonel Washington 
came a courting of your young mistress?' said Mr. 
Custis to old Cully, in his hundredth year. 'Ay, 
master, that I do,' replied the. ancient family servant, 
who had lived to see five generations ; ' great times, sir, 
great times — shall never see the like again !' ' And 
Washington looked something like a man, a proper man 



46 

— hey, Cully ?' ^ Never seed the like, sir — never the 
like of him, though I have seen many in my day — so 
^V tall, so straight ! and then he sat on a horse and rode 

with such an air ! Ah, sir, he was like no one else. 
Many of the grandest gentlemen, in gold lace, were at 
the wedding ; but none looked like the man himself/ 
Strong indeed must have been the impression which 
the person and manner of Washington made upon the 
^ rude, untutored mind' of this poor negro, since the 
lapse of three-quarters of a century had not sufficed to 
efface it." 



George, the eldest son of Augustine and Mary, mar- 
ried, January 6th, 1758, Martha Custis, widow of 
Daniel Parke Custis, and daughter of John Dandridge, 
of New Kent county, Virginia.* The marriage took 
place on the banks of the Pomunkey, a branch of the 
York river, in New Kent county. The ceremony was 
performed by the Kev. Mr. Munson, who was the rec- 
tor of St. Peter's church. " This union,'' says Sparks, 
" was in every respect felicitous. It continued forty 
years. To her intimate acquaintances and to the nation 
the character of Mrs. Washington was ever a theme of 
praise. Affable and courteous, exemplary in her de- 
portment, remarkable for her deeds of charity and 



" Mrs, Custis had two children living at the time of her 
second marriage — one a son (named John) 6 years old ; the 
other a daughter (named Martha) two years younger. The 
son afterwards became aid-de-camp to General Washington, 
and during the seige of Yorktown was seized with a camp 
fever, then raging in the British entrenchments, from the 
effects of which he died, in the 27th year of his age, at his 
home, Eltham, in New Kent county, whither he had been 
removed. He was the father of the late and highly esteemed 
G. W. P. Custis, of Arlington, Va. The daughter died in 
her 19th year at Mount Vernon, 



48 

piety, unostentatious, and without vanity, she adorned 
by her domestic virtues the sphere of private life, and 
filled with dignity every station in which she was 
placed/' She was noted for her beauty and accom- 
plishments, and possessed considerable wealth. 

Soon after their marriage they moved to Mount Yer- 
non, and there permanently settled. 



Blest be the spot that gave thee birth, 

Immortal Washington ; 
Thy name will ever shine on earth 

Bright as the midday sun. 

The birthplace of General Washington is in the 
parish of Washington — named after his great-grand- 
father, John — situated on a tolerably elevated plain, 
which commands a bold and majestic prospect of the 
Maryland shore and of the broad Potomac, extending 
many miles towards the Chesapeake bay. It is half a 
mile from the mouth and about sixty yards from the 
shore of Pope's creek, which flows gracefully on its 
course, around precipitous and crescent-formed banks, 
into the Potomac river, ninety miles south of Wash- 
ington city, in the county of Westmoreland, Ya. The 
spot is designated by a granite slab, now broken in 
three pieces, bearing this plain inscription, " Here, on 
the 11th of February,* 1732, George Washington was 



* Old style, which corresponds to the 22d of February new 
style, the day celebrated as the anniversary of Washington's 
birth. 

Washingtor '^<"' >«antized on the 16th of April, 1732, accord- 
5 ♦ 



50 

born." The slab was placed there by George W. P. 
CustiSj esq., in June, 1815. 

Col. John Washington, who came from England and 
settled on Pope's creek, granted a tract of land at its 
mouth to his son Lawrence. 

Lawrence, in his will, dated March 11th, 1698, says, 
" I give the tract of land on which I now live to my 
sou, John Washington." There were also bequests 
made by him to his son Augustine and to his daughter 
Mildred. It appears from authentic information that 
John Washington sold this estate to his brother Au- 
gustine, the father of George, who bequeathed it to his 
son Augustine, who bequeathed it to his son William 
Augustine, who bequeathed it to his son, Col. George C. 
Y/ashington, who sold it to John Gray, with the excep- 
tion of a reservation of sixty feet square around the 
site of the house, which is memorable as being the 
birthplace of General Washington ; and a reservation 
of twenty feet square around the burial-ground and 
vault of the Washington family, situated about a mile 
from the site of the house, in which aie interred the 
remains of the father, grandfather, and great-grand- 



ing to the rites and ceremonies of the Protestant Episcopal 
ciiurch, which was the established church and the prevailing 
religion at that period in Virginia. 






^^' 



63 
father of General Washington, and members of their 
respective families. A few partially decayed posts only 
remain of the old enclosure around this consecrated 
locality. 

Near the vault is a moss-covered tombstone, having 
upon it the following inscription : " Here lyeth ye 
body of John Washington, eldest son to Captain Law- 
reiice Washington, who departed this life ye 10th of 
January, 1690, aged 10 years and 6 months. Also 
Mildred Warner, eldest daughter to said Washington, 
who died ye 1st of August, 1696." 

Lewis W. Washington, son and heir-at-law of Col. 
George C. Washington, presented these reservations 
" to the mother State of Virginia, in perpetuity, on 
condition solely that the State require the said places 
to be permanently enclosed with an iron fence based on 
stone foundations, together with suitable and modest 
(though substantial) tablets, to commemorate to the 
rising generation these notable spots." 

The grant has been accepted by the State of Vir- 
ginia, and the sum of $5,000 appropriated for the pur- 
pose of fulfilling the conditions mentioned, and erect- 
ing upon the sixty-foot lot consecrated as Wabhington's 
birthplace a memorial to the Pater Patriae. 

On the occasion of Gov. H. A. Wise*s visit, A.cril 



54 

27; 1858, in order to have the grounds surveyed as 
granted to the State of Virginia, an aged persoa pres- 
ent remarked, " that he distinctly remembered when a 
house occupied the spot where the chimney now stands, 
and that it was used for a kitchen and laundry/^ Near 
this place is plainly visible a filled-up cellar, having 
chimney marks at each end, about sixty feet apart. 
This is supposed to be the identical locality where the 
house stood in which General Washington was born. 
It was either burnt or pulled down previous to the 
Revolutionary war. 

Another aged gentleman living in the neighborhood 
remembered the kind of house, and stated, years ago, 
to Mr. J. K. Paulding, that the ^' house was a low- 
pitched, single-storied, frame building, with four rooms 
on the first floor, and an enormous chimney at each 
end on the outside. ^This was the style of the better 
sort of houses in those days, and they are still occasion- 
ally seen in the old settlements of Virginia/^ ' 

Immediately beyond the chimney, and close by the 
slab, a cluster of luxuriant fig trees have sprung up 
the parents of which yet exist in a decayed condition, 
as remaining relics to point the traveler to the spot that 
gave birth to Washington, which no American can ever 
behold without feelings of the profoundest homage. 



Summer ^ouse. 

" How oft with placid eye 

Has he, whose spirit awes ua still, 
Stood where we stand, and viewed the sky, 

The river, vale, and hill, 

And heard the forest bird its anthem trill." 

Upon the brow of the hill on which the mansion is 
situated, and not far from the water's edge, stands a 
frame, unfinished square summer-house, and under- 
neath a dry well, both partially in ruins, in the rear of 
which is a beautiful lawn several acres in extent, reach- 
ing northward beyond the mansion, and planted with 
shrubbery and ornamental trees. A spectator has a 
fine view of the Potomac and Maryland shore from the 
summer-house, which is the most conspicuous object 
seen in passing up the river, and presents a handsome 
appearance at a distance. 

Often was this house visited by the hero man of the 
revolution; and no doubt many cogitations passed 
through his miad ahaut his country's future welfare. 



^t m)i gmik fault. 

About two hundred and fifty yards south of the man- 
sion house can be seen the old family vault, in a very 
dilapidated condition, situated on the ridge of a steep 
hill, embosomed among trees. It is arched with free- 
stone, and over this a deep sod. Washington had 
contemplated moving this old family vault some time 
prior to his death, and in making his will he left a 
clause as follows : ''The family vault at Mount Vernon 
requiring repairs, and being improperly situated besides, 
I desire that a new one, of brick, and upon a larger 
scale, may be built at the foot of what is commonly 
called the Vineyard Enclosure, on the ground, which 
is made out, in which my remains and those of my de- 
ceased relatives, (now in the old vault,) and such other 
of my family as may choose to be entombed there, may 
be deposited'.'^ But it was not finally done until an 
attempt was made some years ago to desecrate this 
hallowed spot by some demon in human form. The 
vault was entered, and a skull and other bones were 
taken from it. The robbery was discovered and the 
bones returned. The bones stolen, however, were not 



59 

tliose of the illustrious "Washington. The desire of 
Washington in reference to the removal of the family 
remains to the spot designated by him previous to his 
death, and mentioned in his will, was carried out 
through the agency of his nephew and friend, Major 
Lewis, in 1831, or immediately after the robbery was 
committed. In the old vault the body of the Hero re- 
mained from 1799 until 1831 — a period over thirty-one 
years. 



®|e ittn fault. 

** Nature hath marked the spot 
Where sleeps the great, the good, the wise, 

Entombed — yet ne'er to be forgot : 
Ah, there the Hero lies ! 
The man of mighty deeds and high emprise." 

The new tomb is perhaps one hundred yards west of 
the old vault, and three hundred southwest from the 
mansion, on the hillside of a lovely retreat, and, though 
not seen from the river, is suddenly brought into full 
view as one ascends the long sloping hill from the 
landing. This hallowed spot is surrounded by a deep 
wooded dell containing thick shrubbery and many ven- 
erable, stately oaks, spreading their green foliage down 
to the river banks. 

The remains of the patriot and those of his wife lie 
in marble sarcophagi, the two occupying (one on the 
right side and the other on the left) a kind of ante- 
chamber, forming the entrance to the new vault, which 
is visible from the outer gateway. This antechamber 
is covered with a metallic roof, and its walls, built of 
brick and elevated to the height of twelve feet, are so 
extended in the rear as to surround the new vault on 
all sides. Its front, which is surmounted with a stone 



63 

coping, is pierced by a gateway with a pointed gothic 
arch. The gate is composed of iron bars. Over the 
gateway is a plain slab, upon which are inscribed the 
?7ords : 

"WITHIN THIS ENCLOSURE REST THE REMAINS OP 
GENERAL GEORGE WASHINGTON." 

The vault beyond the antechamber, where the body 
>f the chief lay previously to the erection of the latter, 
(which was completed in 1837,) was built in 1831. 
The vault is arched over at the height of eight feet 
from the ground. Around this vault grew a few cedars, 
giving very little shade, many of the branches of which 
ivere lopped off by visitors as mementoes. The vault 
las a rough-cast front, with a plain iron door fixed in 
I free-stone casement. Over this there is a stone tablet, 
nth the following brief passage from the Scriptures : 

"I AM THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE ; HE THAT 

BELIEVETH IN ME, THOUGH HE WERE DEAD, 

YET SHALL HE LIVE." 

The vault was constructed as it is seen at present, 
dth the exception that the simple words '^ Washington 
^amili/" originally appeared upon a cap-stone, which 
be building of the antechamber made it necessary to 
Bmove. 

In the lapse of more than thirty-one years the wooden 



64 

coflSns have been three times renewed, and ultimately 
his friends succeeded in placing his ashes in a more 
durable receptacle. 

Mr. John Struthers, a marble and granite cutter of 
Philadelphia, was consulted by the friends of Washing- 
ton in reference to the construction of a marble sar- 
cophagus to enshrine the remains of the illustrious 
chief. Mr. Struthers, with a deep feeling of respect 
and liberality, desired the privilege of constructing and 
presenting to the friends a sarcophagus made of Penn- 
sylvania marble. It was granted ; and in the execu- 
tion of the work he has evidently displayed an unusual 
amount of artistic taste and skill. The following is a 
description of it : 

" The construction of the sarcophagus is of the mod- 
ern form, and consists of an excavation from a solid 
block of marble, eight feet in length, three feet in 
width, and two feet in height, resting on a plinth, 
which projects four inches round the base of the coffin. 
The lid or covering stone is a ponderous block of Italian 
marble, emblazoned with the arms and insignia of the 
United States, beautifully sculptured in the boldest 
relief. The design occupies a large portion of the cen- 
tral part of the top surface or lid, and represents a 
shield divided into thirteen perpendicular stripes, which 



65 

rests on the flag of our country, and is attached by 
cords to a spear, embellished with tassels, forming a 
background to the shield, by which it is supported. 
The crest is an eagle with open wings, perching upon 
the superior bar of the shield, and in the act of clutch- 
ing the arrows and olive branch. Between these ar- 
morial bearings and the foot of the coffin, upon the 
plain field of the lid, is the bold and deeply-sculptured 
name of 

WASHINGTON." 

At the foot of the coffin an inscription reads as fol- 
lows : 

BY IKE PERlVnSSIOJT OF LAWRENCE LEWIS, THE SURVITING EXECUTOR OP 

GEORGE WASHINGTON, THIS SARCOPHAGUS WAS PRESENTED BT 

JOHN BTRUTHERS, OF PHILADELPHIA, MARBLE MASON, 

A. D. 1837. 

The sarcophagus was intended to be placed in the 
new vault, built in 1831 ; but Mr. Strickland, who 
accompanied Mr. Struthers to Mount Yernon, says : 

"Upon a consultation with this gentleman, [Major 
Lewis,] after stating to him the difficulties which would 
atttind the placing of the sarcophagus in the damp 
vault, and the in appropriateness of the situation for 
suoh a work of art, and upon suggesting to him a plan 
fo< constructing a suitable foundation on the right of 
th^' entrance gate, on the outside of the vault, between 



66 

it and the surrounding walls, and the practicability of 
extending the side walls of the vault to the surround- 
ing enclosure^ and arching it over beyond any contact 
with the soil of the sloping hill, taking care to guard 
the vaulted chamber with a metallic roof, with an addi- 
tional grille of iron bars in front, and other fastenings 
and securities, as guards against idle curiosity and the 
chances of attempt at desecration, he consented to the 
plan. 

^'We were accompanied to the spot by the steward, 
and the grated doors were opened for the first time in 
the lapse of seven years. During the operation the 
steward was directed to procure lights for the purpose 
of entering the vault and preparing the way for the 
removal of the body to the outside of the vault. The 
gate of the enclosure was temporarily closed, and 
upon the opening of the vault door we entered, accom- 
panied by Major Lewis and his son. The coffin con- 
taining the remains of Washington was in the extreme 
back part of the vault ; and to remove the case con- 
taining the leaden receptacle, it was found necessary 
to put aside the coffins that were piled up between it 
and the doorway. After clearing a passage-way, the 
case, which was much decayed, was stripped off, and 
the lead of the lid was discovered to have sunk very 





II 'if 



ILIll,lllll!il,ll,l,hiiuiiuJL 




71 

considerably from head to foot ; so mucli so as to form 
a curved line of four to five inches in its whole length. 
This settlement of the metal had perhaps'caused the 
soldering of the joints to give way about the upper or 
widest part of the coffin. The lead of the lid was re- 
stored to its place, and the body, raised by six men, 
was carried and laid in the marble coffin, and the pon- 
derous cover being put on and set in cement, it was 
sealed from our sight on Saturday, the 7th day of Oc- 
tober, 1837. 

•Immediately after the performance of this melan- 
choly ceremony, the sarcophagus was cased up with 
plank, to prevent any injury being done to the carving 
during the operation of enlarging the vault, 

'[ The relatives, consisting of Major Lewis, Lorenzo 
Lewis, John Augustine Washington, Richard Black- 
burn Washington, George Washington, the Reverend 
Mr. Johnson and lady, and Miss Jane Washington, 
then retired to the mansion. 

" The deepest feeling of reverence pervaded this 
assembly. The descendants of this illustrious man had 
the inexpressible satisfaction of seeing his ashes imper- 
ishably secured from the slow but sure attack of time. 

"It is proper here to remark, that when the wooden 
case was removed from the leaden coffin, a silver breast- 



72 

plate; in the shape of the old continental shield or es- 
cutcheon,* was found, upon which were engraved, in 
Roman characters, the dates of the birth and death of 
Washington. This escutcheon was about the size of 
the palm of a hand, with an ornamental chased border 
or margin. It had evidently been attached to the 
leaden lid, but from some cause or other it had given 
way, and was found between the fragments of the ex- 
terior wooden case or covering.'' 

* The common impression of a heart. The words upon it 
were as follows : " George Washington, born Feb. 22, 1732, 
died Dec. 14, 1799." This plate also was deposited in the 
marble sarcophagus. 



"And with him, at his side, 
There rests the loveliest of her clime, 

His bosom friend and sainted bride — 
Death's dream, oh how sublime ! 
Responsive still to memory's magic chime!" 

On the left of the gateway, by the side of Washing- 
ton, rest the remains of his beloved wife, Mrs. Martha 
Custis Washington, in a marble sarcophagus sculptured 
by the same hand, in a plain style ; and upon it are the 
words, '' Martha, consort of Washington: died May 21, 
1801, aged 71 years." Her remains were placed, 
agreeably to her directions previously to her death, in 
a leaden coffin, and entombed by the side of her hus- 
band in the old vault. Since then they have been re- 
moved whenever and wherever her partner's have been. 

On the 23d of December, 1799, Mr. Marshall offered 
the following resolution in Congress : " That a marble 
monument be erected by the United States, in the 
Capitol, at the city of Washington, and that the family 
of General Washington be requested to permit his body 
to be deposited under it, and that the monument be so 
designed as to commemorate the great events of his 
military and political life." To a letter from the Pres- 
7 



74 • 

ident of the United States communicating this resolu- 
^on, Mrs. Washington responded as follows : 

Mt. Verinon, December 31, 1799. 

Sir: While I feel, with keenest anguish, the late 
dispensation of Divine Providence, I cannot be insen- 
sible to the mournful tributes of respect and veneration 
which are paid to the memory of my deceased husband ; 
and, as his best services and most anxious wishes were 
always devoted to the welfare and happiness of bis 
country, to know that they were really appreciated and 
gratefully remembered affords no inconsiderable con- 
gelation. 

Taught by that great example which I have so long 
had before me never to oppose my private wishes to 
the public will, I must consent to the request of Con- 
gress, which you have had the goodness to transmit to 
•me ; and, in doing this, I need not, I cannot, say what 
a sacrifice of individual feeling I make to a sense of 
public duty. 

With grateful acknowledgments and unfeigned thanks 
for the personal respect and evidences of condolence 
expressed by Congress and yourself, I remain, very 
respectfully, sir, your most obedient humble servant, 
MARTHA WASHINaTON. 

To the President of the U. S. 



75 

It is doubtful whether his or her remains could find 
a more appropriate resting-place than amid Mount 
Vernon's sacred shades, where no sound of angry pas- 
sion or political strife disturbs their quiet repose. 

She partook in life of the same complacent dignity 
and even temperament as her husband. She betrayed 
no wish to interrupt his plans, but rather gave him 
encouragement in all his undertakings for his country's 
welfare. Whilst he was in the field, she was employ- 
ing her time and means, in conjunction with other 
ladies, to provide food and clothing for the soldiers, 
and even went from door to door to enlist co-operation 
in the accomplishment of this laudable design. 

Hor virtues, her accomplishments, and her lively 
sympathy with the cause to which her illustrious part- 
ner was devoted, doubtless tended greatly to encourage 
his patriotic zeal and nerve his heart for the trying 
scenes through which he was called to pass. 



On the right of the walk leading to the tomb from 
the landing is a monument erected to the memory of 
Judge Bushrod Washington and his wife, Anna Black- 
burn. These words are upon its side facing the tomb, 
'^Within the vault lie buried the mortal remains of 
Bushrod Washington, an Associate Justice of the Su- 
preme Court of the United States. He died in Phil- 
adelphia, November 26th, 1829, aged 68. By his side 
is interred his devoted wife, Anna Blackburn, who sur- 
vived her husband but two days, aged 60. 

'The heart was broken and aches no more.' 

- They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in death 

they were not divided.' '" 

Immediately opposite, on the left side of the walk, is 
a monument erected to the memory of John A. Wash- 
ington, (the 2d.) These words are upon its side facing 
the tomb : " Sacred to the memory of John A. Wash- 
ington, son of Corbin and Hannah Washington, and 
nephew of Judge Bushrod Washington, who ap- 
pointed him one of his executors, and bequeathed 
him Mount Vernon, where he died, June 16th, 1832, 
aged 43." 



77 

On the side facing the monument of Bushrod and 
Anna Blackburn Washington, are the following words : 
"Ilis mortal remains are interred within the vault, and 
this humble monument to his worth, his purity, and 
unostentatious excellence in all the relations of life, is 
erected bj his widow/' 

At the right of the tomb are two monuments enclosed 
with iron railings. One was erected to the memory of 
Eleanor Parke Lewis, grand-daughter of General Wash- \^i^^ 
ington, and has these words inscribed upon it: "Reared 
under the roof of the Father of his Country, this lady 
was not more marked, while living, for her beauty of per- 
son than for the superiority of her mind. She lived to 
be admired, and died to be regretted, in the 74th year 
of her age." The other is, " Sacred to the memory of 
Mrs. M. E. A. Conrad, wife of Charles, of New Orleans, 
and daughter of Charles and Eleanor P. Lewis, and 
grand-niece of General Washington, born April 1st, 
1813, at Wooddown, Fairfax county, Va., and died 
September 21st, 1839, at Pass Christian, Miss., in the 
27th year of her age.'' 



CJt Comlj. 



"The echoes of its vaults are eloquent I 
The stones have voices, and the walls do live ; 
It is the house of Memory." 

The tomb of Washington must ever be regarded as 
a sacred spot. A halo of glory encircles it. It has a 
thousand tongues, speaking silently to the heart, and 
proclaiming, in sweet accents, all the associations of 
his great name, which is baptized with the everlasting 
gratitude of his people. 

Nothing could exceed the deep feelings of venera- 
tion and reverence experienced as we approached the 
hallowed soil where rest the ashes of him who was 
"first in war, first in peace, and first in the hearts of 
his countrymen." At the time, the heavens were most 
propitious ; the sun shone forth with a peculiar beauty 
and loveliness; the sky was blue, deep, and lof^j, 
its heavenly arch spanning a rich and variegated land- 
scape. As we stood in front of the tomb, with the 
Potomac glimmering in the sunlight below, there wag 
around a calm in nature, betokening solemnity in pre- 
sence of the illustrious dead. Silence reigned, save 
only as now and then the murmur of the breeze play- 



79 

ing over the liills^ and the rustling of the winds in the 
low tree tops, were hoard, in gentle minstrelsy to him 
who reposes amid these august shades. 

Washington came upon the stage of action when the 
world most needed such a man. The golden era was 
about to dawn in which man was to step beyond the 
limits within which he had been so long confined. The 
rights of the many required to be vindicated againsfc 
the tyranny of the few, and he was to be the chosen 
leader in the mighty conflict. 

He saw, in his prophetic vision, as the clouds of ages 
rolled away, a beautiful female form, with hope beam- 
ing from her lovely brow. For her defence she wore a 
shield; the stripes emblazoned thereon were emblem- 
atic of oppression — the stars, of her ultimate dominion. 
Heroes fought for her, and maidens wove chapiets 
and spread garlands in her pathway. Washington 
beheld the glorious vision, and called it Liberty — 
the spirit of his beloved country Finding, as he 
consulted the records of aristocracy and despotism, 
that they comprised a history of injustice, rapacity, 
and blood, he vowed " hostility to every form of 
tyranny over the mind of man ;" and, adopting the 
motto that " all men are created free and equal," being 
endowed by their Creator with the inalienable rights of 



80 

^^ life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness," he be- 
came the chief among that band of heroes who nc'oly 
pledged their " lives, their fortunes, and their sacred 
honors" to the maintenance of the position they had 
assumed. 

Washington well deserves the appellation of the Fa- 
ther of his Country. He commanded with surpassing 
adeptness, his country's armies; he trained them in 
the mystery of warfare ; confirmed their dubious reso- 
lution by his invincible courage; and taught them 
to be magnanimous in the cheering hour of victory. 
While his brilliant successes in the army, and his 
great constitutional and political teachings, standing 
out in bold relief, command the admiration of the world 
and ar§ emblazoned upon t'^e pages of history, his quiet 
disposition, his modest pretensions, and his undaunted 
perseverance in the most retired walks of life, no less 
endear him to the hearts of all. 



I 



Ipcrscual appearance. 

In the prime of life Washington measured (without 
shoes) six feet one inch; four years previous to hi3 
death, (1795,) six feet one-half inch. He was erecfe 
and well proportioned in his person, slightly corpulent. 
His weight at one time was two hundred and twenty 
pounds, rather shoit neck, broad and sloping shoul- 
ders, limbs rather sinewy than muscular, and being in 
stature ronuirkably erect and majestic. In his mein 
there seemed to be blended in an extraordinary de- 
gree ihe gentleman and soldier. His compxleion was 
florid. His forehead not extremely broad, but well 
formed. His nose prominent and somewhat aquiline. 
A firm expression of mouth, indicative of silent habit. 
His countenance, bearing the impress of intelligence 
and meditation, indicated a pleasant disposition within. 
His eyes were dark blue, and his hair of a brown co- 
lor. His lips expressed good will and kindness. Hia 
manners never failed to engage respect and esteem 
from all who had intercourse with him. He was quite 
accessible and pleasant in conversation, but cautious 

83 



84 

in expressing an opinion which he thought it prudent 
to conceal. The signet of brilliant genius was not 
so fully stamped upon his mind as correct judgment 
and consummate prudence. He was not so pre-eminent 
for possessing any single quality in the highest degree 
as for that combination of all the elements of great- 
ness which is so seldom found in the same individual. 
" He was not only distinguished for his bravery and 
intelligence, but for the purest virtues which can 
adorn the human heart. He has been venerated in 
the memory of distant nations, and immortalized by 
the blessings he shed upon his country. He resem- 
bles the orb of day, imparting his twilight long after 
he is set, and invisibly dispensing his light and cheer- 
ing warmth to the world. Cautious and prudent, he 
was never surprised by the most disheartening fail- 
ures, nor alarmed into compliance by the most un- 
daunted threats.'' 



ORIGINxiL PORTRAITS OF WASHINGTON. 

Mr. Rembrandt Peale in making some remarks 
(just before his demise) about the portraits of Wash- 
ington, said that there was a great interest manifested 
in England about the likeness of their great country- 



85 

man Shakespear, but there was this disadvantage, 
however, attending all the portraits of that distin- 
guished man, that there was no one living who could 
tell whether any one of the pictures purportiDg to be 
a likeness of Shakespear was really correct. Not so 
with our great patriot and soldier, as is evidenced the 
following list of original portraits : 

In 1772 Charles ^Y. Peale painted the first portrait 
of Washington, in 1776 he painted a half length por- 
trait for John Hancock, also, a minature of Mrs. Wash- 
ington ; in 1777 a miniature of the General for Mrs. 
Washington; in 1778 a whole length miniature for 
Lafayette; and a whole full size for the State of Mary- 
land, and one for the State of Pennsylvania; in 1779 
a full length portrait as commander-in-chief at the 
battle of Princeton ; in 1782 a full size head ; in 1783 
a full length portrait for the College of New Jersey, 
to occupy a frame that had contained a portrait of 
George the Second,* and in 1786 he painted a head 
from life for his own gallery, and his last was one 
in 1795. 

In 1783 Joseph Wright painted a half length of 
Washington, also a portrait for the Count de Solms; 
during the same year William Dunlap painted a portrait 
which was a failure. 

In 1785 Houdon the celebrated portrait sculptor 
modelled a bust of Washington in clay, and afterwards 
executed a full length statue of him for the State of 

* The picture of the King was destroyed by an American cannon ball, 
that passed through one of the college buildings in which the portrait 
hung, during the battle of Princeton, in 1777. 

8 



86 



Virginia; in the same year R. E. Pine painted a pic- 
ture of him. 

In 1789 several portraits were painted of him, one 
by John Ramage, who made a portrait in miniature 
for Mrs. Washington ; one was by Marchioness de 
Brienne, who completed a miniature profile of Wash- 
ington, and afterwards she painted a miniature profile 
of Washington and Lafayette together iu medallion 
f( rm ] one by Mr. Gulligher who painted a portrait; and 
one by Edward Savage, who painted a portrait of him for 
the Harvard College, at Cjmbridge, Mass. 

In 1790 Col John Trumbull painted a portrait of 
Washington, and also a full length one of Washington 
standing by his charger, then again, iu 1792, he paint- 
ed several full length portraits of Wasbing^on. 

In 1791, Archibald Robertson painted Washington 
and his wife in miniature, and then painted a larger 
one for the Earl of Buchan. 

In 1792 eToseph Cerracchi an Italian Sculptor, 
modeled a bust of AVashington from life, and repecited 
it in collos.-al size. 

In 1795 a number of likenesses were painted of 
him; one by Rembrandt Peale, son of C W. Peale ; 
one by James Peale, broiher to C. W. Peale, a pencil 
sketch in profile, and one by Gilbert Stuart,* and one 
by J. U. Wirtmuiler, which was considered a failure. 

In 1796 James Sharpless, who was the last artist 
W^ashington ever gave a sitting to, painted a superb 
pn.file likcnci^s of him, and it was considered by the 
Washington family very correct. 



* lie made five copies, and the original was sold for two hundred dollars. 
G. W. P. ( litis said, •' Hence for a standard portraiture of Washington we 
must in :\11 cases refer to the head from Stuart, and the figure from the 
worls of Trumbull." 



% Mhk 



The following tribute from Phillips, an Irishman, 
does justice to the heart and head of the writer : 

^'It matters very little what immediate spot may 
have been the birth-place of such a man as Washington. 
No people can claim, no country can appropriate him. 
The boon of Providence to the human race, his fame 
is eternity, and his residence creation. Though it was 
the defeat of our arms, and the disgrace of our policy, 
I almost bless the convulsion in which he had his origin. 
If the heavens thundered, and the earth rocked, yet, 
when the storm had passed, how pure was the climate 
that it cleared ! how bright, in the brow of the firma- 
ment, was the planet which it revealed to us ! In the 
production of Washington, it does really appear as if 
Nature was endeavoring to improve upon herself, and 
that all the virtues of the ancient world were but so 
many studies preparatory to the patriot "^'^ the new. 
Individual instances, no doubt, there were, splendid 
exemplifications of some singular qualification : Caesar 
was merciful, Scipio was continent, Hannibal was pa- 
tient; but it was reserved for Washington to blend 
them all in one, and, like the lovely masterpiece of the 



Grecian artist, to exhibit, in one glow oi associated 
beauty, the pride of every model, and the perfection of 
every master. As a general, he marshalled the peasant 
into a veteran, and supplied by discipliae the absence 
of experience ; as a statesman, he enlarged the policy 
of the cabinet into the most comprehensive system of 
general advantage ; and such were the wisdom of his 
views and the philosophy of his councils, that to the 
soldier and the statesman he almost added the charac- 
ter of the sage ! A conqueror, he was untainted with 
the crime of blood. A revolutionist, he was free from 
every stain of treason ; for aggression commenced the 
contest, and his country called him to the command. 
Liberty unsheathed his sword, necessity stained, victo- 
ry returned it. If he had paused here, history might 
have doubted what station to assign him ; whether at 
the head of her citizens or her soldiers, her heroes or 
her patriots. But the last glorious act crowns his 
career, and banishes all hesitation. Who, like Wash- 
ington, after having emancipated a hemisphere, resign- 
ed its crowns, and preferred the retirement of domestic 
life to the adoration of a land he might be almost said 
to have created? Happy, proud America ! The light- 
ning of heaven yielded to your philosophy ! The temp- 
'ations of earth could not seduce jour patriotism V 



SSasIjragtmi's fast §^s. 

"Oh ! shade of the Mighty, honv calm is that sleep 

In which Death with his pitiless fetters has bound thee, 
While a nation of Freemen their love-watches keep, 
With Henry and Jefferson waiting around thee!' 

It was customary, when at home, for Washington to 
ride out on horseback around his estate during part of 
each day. This he did on the 12th of December, 
(Thursday,) and spent several hours riding about to 
inspect his farms and give directions to his overseers; 
and while returning home late in the afternoon, he was 
exposed to falling weather — hail, snow, and rain — which 
caused his hair and neck to get wet, and his person 
chilled. The next day, the 13th, (Friday,) it was also 
his purpose to ride out, but a heavy snow-fall that 
morning prevented him. He complained lightly of a 
sore throat from his exposure the day previous, yet he 
did not seem apprehensive of any danger from it. He 
went in the afternoon in front of the house some 
distance towards the river, to mark some trees that 
were to be cut down in order to make an ornamental 
improvement; then returned and passed the evening 
with the family in the usual manner. The next morn- 
ing, which was Saturday, the 14th, between two and 



90 

three o'clock, he called his wife and told her his con- 
dition. She noticed that he breathed with great diffi- 
culty and had considerable hoarseness in speaking. 
According to his request, she sent for one of the over- 
seers to bleed him. The family became alarmed when 
they saw the rapid advancement of the disease. A 
messenger was despatched for the family physician, 
Dr. Craik, who resided in Alexandria. In the mean- 
time, another messenger went for Dr. Brown, who lived 
nearer Mount Vernon. They arrived during the morn- 
ing, and in the course of the day Dr. Dick was also 
called in ; but the skill of the physicians, though ex- 
erted to the utmost, proved insufficient to arrest his 
disease — quinsy. 

As dissolution was fast approaching, he endeavored 
to raise himself up in bed, when Dr. Craik held out 
his hand and assisted him. He then cast a benign look 
around the room, and said to the physicians, ^' I feel 
myself going : I thank you for your attention ; but I 
pray you take no more trouble about me. Let me go 
off quietly ; I cannot last long.'' 



About ten o'clock in the evening he made several 
fruitless efforts to converse with some of those around 
the bedside. At length he succeeded in sajing, " I 
am just going ; have me decently buried, and do not 
let my body be put into the vault in less than three 
days after I am dead/' 

Mr. Tobias Lear, who was for many years Washing- 
ton's secretary, and afterwards superintendent of his 
private affairs, being present during Washington's last 
illness, says : ^' About ten minutes before he expired, 
which was between ten and eleven o'clock, his breath- 
ing became easier. He lay quietly j he withdrew his 
hand from mine and felt his own pulse. I saw his 
countenance change. I spoke to Dr. Craik, who sat 
by the fire. He came to the bedside. The General's 
hand fell from his wrist. I took it in mine, and pressed 
it to my bosom. Dr. Craik put his hands over his eyes, 
and he expired without a struggle or a sigh. While 
we were fixed in silent grief, Mrs. Washington, who was 
sitting at the foot of the bed, asked, with a firm and 
collected voice, ^ Is he gone ?' I could not speak, but 
held up my hand as a signal that he was no more. ' 'Tis 



92 

well/ said she, in the same voice ^ all is now over ; I 
shall soon follow him ; I have no more trials to pass 
through.'" 

Thus did the great man fall asleep, to wake no more 
on earth ; hut his spirit winged its flight to happier 
realms. He died on Saturday night, December 14th, 
1799. 

The painful news of the death of Washington arrived 
at the seat of government (Philadelphia) before the 
information of his sickness. It caused a general gloom 
to pervade the minds of the members of Congress. 
Silence reigned in the House of Representatives for a 
short period, after which Mr. Marshall, (who afterwards 
became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the 
United States,) with a voice and countenance indicative 
of the deepest sorrow, commenced an address to the 
House, as follows : '^ Mr. Speaker, information has 
just been received that our illustrious citizen, the Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the American army and the late 
President of the United States, is no more. Though 
this distressing intelligence is not certain, there is too 
much reason to believe its truth. After receiving in- 
formation of this national calamity, so heavy and afflict- 
ing, the House of Representatives can be but ill fitted 
for public business. I move you, therefore, that we 



93 

adjourn." The House adjourned immediately, as alsc 
did the Senate. 

The next mcrning, in the House, Mr. Marshall ad- 
dressed the chair in the following manner : 

'^ Mr. Speaker : The melancholy event, which was 
yesterday announced with doubt, has beer rendered too 
certain. Our Washington is no more ! The hero, the 
patriot, and the sage of America ; the man on whom in 
times of danger every eye was turned and all hopes 
were placed, lives now only in his own great actions 
and in the hearts of an affectionate and afflicted people. 

" If, sir, it had even not been usual openly to testify 
respect for the memory of those whom Heaven has 
selected as its instruments for dispensing good to man, 
yet such has been the uncommon worth and such the 
extraordinary incidents which have marked the life of 
him whose loss we all deplore, that the whole Ameri- 
can nation, impelled by the same feelings, would call 
with one voice for a public manifestation of that sorrow 
which is so deep and so universal. 

" More than any other individual, and as much as to 
one individual was possible, has he contributed to found 
this our wide-spreading empire, and to give to the 
western world independence and freedom. Having 
effected the great object for which he was placed at the 



94 

head of our armies, we have seen him convert the sword 
into the ploughshare, and sink the soldier in the citizen. 

" When the debility of our federal system had be- 
come manifest, and the bonds which connected this vast 
continent were dissolving, we have seen him the chief 
of those patriots who formed for us a constitution, 
which, by preserving the union, will, I trust, substan- 
tiate and perpetuate those blessings which our Revolu- 
tion had promised to bestow, 

" In obedience to the general voice of this country, 
calling him to preside over a great people, we have seen 
him once more quit the retirement he loved, and, in a 
season more stormy and tempestuous than war itself, 
with calm and wise determination pursue the true 
interests of the nation, and contribute, more than any 
other could contribute, to the establishment of that 
system of policy which will, I trust, yet preserve our 
peace, our honor, and our independence. 

" Having been twice, unanimously chosen the Chief 
Magistrate of a free people, we have seen him, at a time 
when his re-election with universal suffrage could not 
be doubted, afford to the world a rare instance of mod- 
eration, by withdrawing from his station to the peace- 
ful walks of private life. 

"However the public confidence may change and the 



95 

public affections fluctuate with respect to otlicrs, with 
respect to him they have, in war and in peace, in public 
and private life, been as steady as his own firm mind 
and a^ constant as his own exalted virtues." 

He then offered three resolutions, which passed. 
Among the rest it was resolved, in conjunction with 
the Senate, that there be appointed a committee to con- 
sider the most appropriate manner of paying honor to 
the memory of the man first in war, first in peace, and 
first in the hearts of his countrymen. The resolutions 
had no sooner passed, than a message was received 
from the President of the United States, John Adams, 
transmitting a letter from Mr. T. Lear, " which," said 
the message, '^will inform you that it had pleased 
Divine Providence to remove from this life our excel- 
lent fellow-citizen, George Washington, by the purity 
of his life and a long series of services to his country 
rendered illustrious through the world. It remains for 
an affectionate and grateful people, in whose hearts he 
can never die, to pay suitable honor to his memory." 

On this mournful event the Senate addressed a long 
letter to the President. It closed as follows: ^'This 
event, so distressing to all our fellow-citizens, must be 
peculiarly heavy to you, who have long been associated 
with him m deeds of patriotism. Permit us, sir, to 



96 

mingle our tears with yours On this occasion it is 
manly to weep. To lose such a man, at such a crisis, 
is no common calamity to the world Our country 
mourns a father. The Almighty dispenser of human 
events has taken from us our greatest benefactor and 
ornament. It becomes us to submit with reverence to 
Him who ^ maketh darkness his pavilion.' " 



Clje §urial. 



The arrangements of the funeral procession were 

made bj Colonels Little, Sims, and Deneale, and Dr. 

Dick ; and 12 o'clock on Wednesday, December 18th, 

was the appointed hour to bury the body ; but as some 

of the military troops from a distance failed to arrive 

at the hour, and persons were coming in from various 

quarters, the hour was postponed. Between 2 and 3 

o'clock p. m. a signal gun was heard from a vessel 

moored near the river shore, in solemn token that the 

funeral cortege was in readiness to start. 

_, The procession moved out through the gate in the 

rear of the house, left wing, and proceeded around to 

the east or river front, along the right wing, down the 

lawn, to the old family vault, in the following order: 

Cavalry, infantry, and guard, with arms reversed; 

Music ; 

Clergy, consisting of Rev. Messrs. Davies, Muir, 

MoflFat, and Addison ; 

The General's horse, with his saddle, holsters and pistols, 

the horse being led by two grooms, dressed 

in black, named Cyrus and Wilson ; 
Colonel Blackburn, preceding the corpse ; 
Pall Bearers. PaU Bearers. 

Col. Sims, \ r Col. Gilpin, 

Col. Ramsay, IcORPSE. J 

Col. Paynb, J ( Col. Little. 

9 



93 



Principal Mourners. 

Misses Nancy and Sally Stuart ; 

Miss Fairfax and Miss Denison ; 

Messrs. Law and Peter ; 

Dr. Craik and Mr. Lear ; 

Lord Fairfax and Ferdinando Fairfax ; 

Lodge No. 23 of the Free Masons; 

Corporation of Alexandria ; 

Citizens, preceded by Mr. Anderson and the overseers. 

As soon as the head of the procession had arrived at 
the bottom of the lawn, near the family vault, the cav- 
alry halted and then formed their lines; the infantry 
did the same; immediately after, the clergy, masonic 
brothers, and citizens descended to the vault, when the 
Rev. Mr. Davis read the funeral services of the church, 
and pronounced a short address ; after which the ma- 
sonic brethren performed their ceremonies, and depos- 
ited the corpse in the vault. A general discharge of 
guns from the military that lined the banks of the river 
closed the scene. 

The coJQGin bore the following inscriptions : at the 
head, " Surge ad Judicum f about the middle, " Gloria 
Deo ;" and on the ornamental silver plate, " General 
George Washington departed this life on the 14th De- 
cember 1799. ^t. 68/' 

He expressed in his will the desire that he should 
be buried ia a private manner, and without any parade 



9j 

or funeral oration ; but in this instance his fellow-citi- 
zens could not be dissuaded from going contrary to his 
wish, and therefore assembled in great numbers to 
pay their last tribute of respect to his earthly remains. 
The proud fleet of the EnD;lish, coming up the Poto- 
mac river, in hostile aspect, in the time of the last war, 
halted in front of Mount Vernon, and, amid the curling 
smoke of their minute guns, testified their respect for 
the memory of our illustrious Washington — 

"Great, without pomp; without ambition, brave; 
Proud, not to conquer fellow-men, but save." 



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